Kyrie Irving took a vaccine-related shot at Mayor Eric Adams during his first game back in Brooklyn.
Amid Irving’s 36-point performance at Barclays Center on Tuesday, a fan sitting near the court asked the Dallas Mavericks point guard why he didn’t play as well during his time with the Nets.
“Thank Mayor Adams for that, bro,” Irving replied, as seen in footage posted on X by the account @Courtsidenets.
His response referred to New York City’s former COVID-19 vaccine mandate, under which Irving was not eligible to play home games throughout much of the 2021-22 season because he declined to get vaccinated. The Nets kept Irving out of road games, too, during that season’s first two months.
Irving didn’t make his Barclays Center debut that season until the Nets’ 75th game after Adams exempted athletes from the mandate. Irving appeared in only 29 games that season, which was his third with Brooklyn.
I asked @KyrieIrving why he didn’t play like this when he was in the @BrooklynNets ? He told me to thank @NYCMayor for that #netsworld pic.twitter.com/RtG33m7fUR
— Courtside Nets (@Courtsidenets) February 7, 2024
The Nets granted Irving’s trade request last February and sent him to the Mavericks, ending a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year tenure in which he, Kevin Durant and James Harden only won one playoff series.
“Obviously, I fell short in terms of the championship aspirations but, for me, I think it was bigger than a championship here,” Irving said Tuesday after his Mavericks beat the Nets, 119-107.
Kyrie Irving doesn’t get tribute video from Nets, scores 36 points amid boos in return to Brooklyn
“I had to really take some moral stances that propelled me into a place in my life that I had to become accustomed to,” Irving continued. “There were some political things that were going on here as well that I couldn’t control, that I was responsible for. There were some things that I did on my own accord that I look back on, and they were mistakes, and I have to be accountable for those things. I’m not perfect, but one thing I can say is I’ve been able to learn from things.”
A representative for Adams declined comment Wednesday. The Mayor previously weighed in last February on Irving’s trade to Dallas, telling NY1’s Pat Kiernan he, too, would trade away a disgruntled employee if such deals existed in City Hall.
“No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important,” Adams said. “One player can bring down the synergy of the team, so I would send him to the team that beats us the most so we can start winning better.”
